ClubHotel Riu Bambu Information

Located on Arena Gorda beach, one of the most beautiful places in the Dominican Republic, with fine white sand and turquoise waters. The ClubHotel Riu Bambu (all inclusive 24 hours) is perfect for your holiday live more intensely funny, always surrounded by great comfort in nature.

Arrival: Febuary 18 - 25
It was a fairly typical arrival....the only small problem is no signs to tell people where the buses are for those that have never been to all-inclusive hotels

Rooms
adquate ....except for all the live wires that were bare as well as most electrical outlets did not work. Definatly bring an extension cord and your own blow dryer. I would love to say they blow but they dont.

Restaurants and Bars
the food was pretty decent in the buffet...the al a carts was a joke. waste of time. they take your lunch buffet where everyone comes in wet and sandy and turn it into the Italine AND the steak House. It says that they are 24 hr but they are definatly not!!! I have a toddler that was getting up very early and had to wait till 7:00 am to get breakfast..or any food for that matter. They shut down the main bar to clean it between 4-6Am but they dont offer any other place for coffee/cappicino. The service was pretty good at the buffet and the bars.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
everything was clean...there was no liter anywhere...really nice to see. My daughter touched a live wire that was sticking out of the ground in the middle of the courtyard...the managers responce was to get it fixed right away and tell me it was from the x-mas ligthts????? at the end of Febuary??? to say the least I was furious!!how many other got hurt and nothing was done??

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
we went on the sunset tour which was great for the money we spent....just so everyone knows...their idea of snacks is chips and peanuts...which we liked!!!LOL! Because of our daughter we packed her life jacket which was a great idea they only had one and it was too big for her....

Other Comments
DO NOT GET MARRIERD THERE!!! OR ANY RIU HOTELS IN PUNTA CANA!!!! The wedding coorditator (Magnolia) that we are reading about that sounds so awsome is on maternity leave!!! the ladies that are doing it now, do not care and really couldnt care less. wrong music for our wedding ...the photographer only got pics of my husbands family...none of my family. We were doing a vow renewal and they forgot to tell us that we needed a copy of our wedding certifiate. Good thing I brought a copy anyway!! the ceramony itself lasted 10 mins with and extra 5 with the photographer....so all in all....15 mins. Kinda like the exfoliation that was offered in the royal package...LOL!!! when we walked into the spa there was no appoitment made for us...they just looked a little lost...then we were taken upstairs told to strip....of course I asked the 2 ladies to leave they said no and told us to strip naked!!! LOL!! we were shocked but did it anyway. we were smeared with some sort of salt and what felt like mineral oil then told to rinse and we were done.. it litereally lasted less than 15 min and the water was cold...the flowers were well done and beautiful but remember you cannot take them home..

Arrival: Jan 10 - 17
Our arrival was a little bit chaotic but I think that was due to travelling with a large group, however the shuttle bus did try to drop us off at the Riu Taino at first. Once that was cleared and we arrived at the right hotel the welcome was great. Refreshing drinks and very friendly staff to explain everything.

Rooms
Fifty-fifty chance by the sounds of things. Our junior suite (which we had because they do NOT have honey moon suites, nor jaccuzzi suites as advertised) that we booked 5 months prior was not available upon arrival, but was 2 days later, which was extreamly inconvenient considering we had wedding apparel and favours to organize and unpack (I am still fighting with SELLOFFVACATIONS & SUNQUEST VACATIONS for a discount or refund) Once we had our suite we had no problems. Clean and free of any critters, however 3 peopl in our travel group did claim to have ants...

Restaurants and Bars
A la cartes...awful. They transformed the beach restaurant from the day time into a Steak House on one half (amazing food) and the other side was Italian, which consisted of mostly seafood. (awful food) Very interesting. We ended up having our wedding dinner at the steakhouse which I never would have dreamed I would be eating steak for my wedding dinner, however it was the best meal they offered.
The buffet was relatively the same each evening food wise, but did have a theme each nite, with a small table of food serving the featured theme. (mexican, italian, chinese etc)

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
A few of us girls did the catamaran, awesome time, some people in our group did deep sea fishing, motor boating, etc...all were a lot of fun, although the organization from the staff on these activities were a bit scattered.

Other Comments
Over all a great vacation/wedding. The staff made it absalutly perfect with a fwe minor but expected glitches as any vacation has. Perfect for young people or large groups travelling
mahalia29@hotmail.com

Arrival
Let me start by saying that we "won" this trip to the riu bambu punta cana, and even at that price, (trip tax and such), it's still not a bargain. We arrived at 11 am. 4/6/09, with a bus load of other guests and were told that our rooms wouldn't be ready until 3 pm. We were not advised that we could use the facilities which I discovered later in the day, right in the lobby to change, put on swim suits etc. So there we were wondering around until 3 pm. in our travel clothes. Advice: change in the airport! hahaha

Rooms
Our room was small and old looking, 2 beds pushed together which moved apart during the night, so my husband and I just slept on one full size bed the entire stay, well that wasn't so bad, hehehe. The room had ants and the shower blew at fire hose strength so rinsing was actually painful. The air conditioning in our room fluctuated from cool to hot to humid. Oh and by the way, there are notes in your bathroom asking you to reuse your towels. Free trip right?

Restaurants and Bars
The food was so disgusting that we only ate to survive our trip. The food was all either under or over cooked, everything was mushy and unidentifiable. If you try to use salt or pepper to flavor it forget it, that doesn't have any flavor either, even fruit didn't have any taste. We thought we would be ok with breakfast, nope. Honestly I don't know how and egg that comes out of a shell can be tasteless and bacon is fried all at one time in a deep fryer so it turns into burned to ash bacon balls. The "restaurants" that you have to get up at 7 am, go to the main dining room to make your reservation for were a joke. They turn the snack bar into "the steak house \ Italian restaurant" at night. Then you're served the same uneatable food, but this time by wait staff in suits. How exciting! The drinks were acceptable but in thimble sized plastic cups and the bar was actually a treck from the beach location. no beach service. We were told that we should buy $15 ea. insulated cups.

Beach/Pools/Grounds
The beach however did make it almost bearable. Beautiful white sand, crystal clear water, palm trees lots of chairs and shade if you want it. Just be firm with the people trying to sell you pictures, massages, activities unless that's what you're looking for. If you tell them NO 3 or 4 times they will give up only after telling you that they work on comission. The pool is full of screaming, running, jumping right on top of you kids! enough said about that!

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Except for a couple of people from England and Canada 90% of the guests are from Germany & France, which is fine, but socializing is out of the question unless you're fluent in French or German. Also, don't think that you'll be able to converse with the staff non of them speak or understand English, they do however understand how to count out pasos in change for your American money. They will be visably angry if asked to give change in American, which the til is full of.

If you're not traveling with children don't even think of staying here. This is a FAMILY resort. Entertainment is 9pm. childrens musical chairs on the main stage. Oh yes we noticed many of the guests brought their own cards and board games.

Other Comments
Everyone and I mean everyone want and expects to be tipped round the clock and for everything.

We've stayed in all inclusive's before some of the best are in Jamaica, i.e.; Hedonism, Beaches, and you practically have to threaten any of the staff to accept a tip for over and beyond great service. (the food is great there too).

Lastly, if you're planning a trip DON'T pick an Apple Vacation! Their rep. stationed in the lobby was very rude and insulting when we and others asked about our departure info. She pointed to a large binder and told us to look it up ourselves latter in the day. When asked how to do that she raised her voice, annoyed that she had to repeat herself and said, "like I just said to you...LOOK IT UP AFTER 4PM!" Wow, OK! thanks for the help.

As for our free trip, If something sounds too good to be true....well you know the rest.

Arrival: Apr - May 2009
When we arrived for our 9-day stay, Manney and Maximo at the front desk had the room we requested reserved for us - Room 308. The remote control was missing and the taps didn't want to shut off but these were dealt with immediately...(Canadian time).

As usual the grounds were finely manicured and the beach exquisite. We had no interest in excursions this time, our goal was to relax and have fun. I'm happy to say we achieved out goal. We had the time of our lives and can't wait to go back ... next time 14 days! The food at the Main Restaurant was exceptional, something for everyone. We ate at the Steakhouse and found their steak to be melt in your mouth delicious.

Being mature ladies we weren't too interested in the disco but the street party on Caribbean Street was a riot...right down to the lap dances I received from P. Ditty, O la la! For the most part we stayed around the pool, partook of the Water aerobics, spent time with Victor at the pool bar went to the ocean, back to the pool bar harassed the Animation Team and by then it was time to get ready for dinner. The staff Esteban, Franklin and Wilkins made sure we wanted for nothing. At one point after dinner I took out a cigarette and all three were there with lighters...haven't experienced that in thirty years!

We attended the show every evening, they are always amusing and entertaining. Francesca from the animation team was finally successful in getting me up on stage to dance who could say no to that charmer. All in all, if you want some privacy you can have it but if you want to have some fun the Animation Team makes sure you do.
Animation Muy Bien, Muy Bien Muy Bien !!!
Can't wait until next year.

Arrival: Feb 6th to 20th 2009
Arrival was awesome. The flight was great and there is nothing better than feeling the heat and smelling the smells when you are landing in the D.R. We picked up our bags, walked outside, hopped on a bus right away and were whisked away to our hotel. Apon Arrival at the resort we were handed drinks and waited for our keys. They gave us stickers to put on our bags and we were free to go, the bags would be delivered shortly, and they were.....30 minutes TOPS!

Rooms:
Rooms were great. What do you really need in a room when you are on a hot holiday? if you are looking for jacuzzi's and butlers you are in the wrong place. The rooms were clean, big enough and cold....what more can you ask for? The rooms have a fridge and mini bar that were stocked every second day, or every day if you ask them and leave a little tip. I never thought we would drink very much in the room, but while people were getting ready for dinner, it was nice to have access to cold pepsi, 7-up and beer along with a 4 bottle liquor dispenser for drinks while playing cards out on the patio.

The bed was fine, it was two beds pushed together. I have read a ton of reviews about people complaining about this.....why? Use one bed to store stuff on and sleep in the other. You are on vacation, get close and cuddle a little! and if this is not what you are wanting or you are going with your family, then there ya go, you have 2 beds.

ADVICE: The only thing i can say about the rooms is, if you like fatter pillows, you may need to bring one, or request for more, as the pillows are a little flat. The other thing is, the resort does not use Fitted sheets, so if you want a sheet that will FORSURE not move around under you, you may want to bring one. For us, we don't care, but i mean.....hey, I gotta let you know what we noticed right?

Restaurants and Bars:
AWESOME. The food was unreal. I eat EVERYTHING and my wife is kind of picky. There was not any days or nights that went by that we were hungry. There is a TON of selection and the staff are amazing. Breakfast you can have fresh smoothies and omellets, and tons of other stuff. Ham and cheese sandwiches at the bar at 4:00 am is always nice too. There are ALWAYS snacks and stuff to eat from nacho's and hot dogs, to chicken and beef.

BARS: Well....this was probably the most frequently visited piece of the hotel by us. We travelled with a group of 42, so we spent alot of time at the bars. FORSURE go to the swim up bar and talk to Wilkins....he is awesome and will always help you out with drinks.

The main bar was unreal as well, great staff and great drinks. They are always willing to give you whatever you want. We started a 40 person flippy cup game just outside the bar and needed alot of beer for it. They actually filled up our 4 litre water jugs with beer for us. We needed almost 3 - 4 a round and every time we finished we just took them back up and they filled them again......UNREAL.

Have one day and start at the top of the menu and go to the bottom, I can guarantee that what you remember of the night will be a good time.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
BEACH: I do not have enough time nor space in this review to describe to you how amazing the beach is. This is honestly the nicest beach i have ever seen in my life. Sand is amazing, water is amazing, everything is amazing. Never had any trouble finding seats. There is Volleyball, soccer, boogie boards, you name it.

POOLS: Great! the swim up bar saw alot of us as well. Of course go here to visit Wilkins. The other pools were great as well. We spent alot of time around the round pool in the middle.

Grounds: IMACULATE! They were spotless, there were always staff cleaning, trimming, cutting, painting, whatever. They are working NONSTOP here and it shows. The resort was beautiful.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
SCUBA: I did 4 dives, and they were great....I would strongly recomend them to anyone. Scuba Caribe will help you out and they are located right on the resort. The staff are great and always willing to help out.

Catalina Island: All 42 of us went on the Catalina Island excursion, and I HIGHLY RECCOMEND IT. It was unreal. It was actually so much fun, that we are planning on going on it both weeks we are there on our next trip.

Other Comments:
Before we went on this trip we had read alot of reviews and did not really know what to expect. Quite honestly, don't believe anything you read until you can experience it for yourself. The Staff at this hotel work harder than anybody i have ever seen. The animacion are up first thing and still going hard at night time. TIP THEM! They deserve it.

I probably missed alot in this review, but i wanted to give this hotel the credit it deserves.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we have 16 confirmed and paid for our trip next February.....

We have been to the Punta Cana area 5 times. This rates in the middle. However this is the least we have ever spent. It is a 4 star,the 5 is next door at the Palace. Rooms were well a bit dated, the beds hard,and the pillows 1.5" thick and so were the replacements. Housekeeping excellant.Bartenders excellant,Buffet excellant, A la carte's were mediocre(Decor and selection) Good Luck booking as you need to get up and be in line before 7 and he only took 12 bookings?? When we got there there was 24 empty tables at the 7 sitting?? Pools were nice, a tad small,clean,but also dated. The rumour is that this place will be shut down in May 2010 for a make over.The beach as always was clean with lounge chairs available. My attempt at writing this my first review is to inform but not chase anyone away for as I stated earlier For under $600+tax it was an excellant buy at this time of year.

Arrival: November 5-12/09
Traveled with Sunquest. Departure was ok but arrival, although on time was dissapointing and dissorganized; it appears that Skyservice changed their plane at the last minute and we were not provided with turist cards, so this delayed us by one hour standing on the line in the sweltering humidity with the ceiling fans NOT working. Only when we got a provisional pass (which they collected 100 mtrs. ahead)did the fans starting to work! got to the hotel in 1/2 an hour and stood in line to get the keys to the room. We were the last ones to get a key as the room asigned to us was not ready (it was after 1pm when we arrived)

Rooms:
Spacious, 2 beds joint together, safe, fridge with drinks, etc; maid forgot to supply us with glasses, towells, shower rug and toilette paper. We phoned in and it took them more than an hour to bring us those. The next day she also forgot to leave us somethings. The third day, a glass bottle fell on the floor and smashed into peices. I called the front desk and asked for someone to come and clean and that the bed cover was also wet and that I need a replacement. After half hour I call again as noone came and I didnt want the floor to attract ants....the lady at the desk told me that the girl was cleaning the other floor-so they didnt seem concerned....I saw the girl cleaning the floor when she was doing our room, she took the bed cover but didnt bother to bring a new one!!! grrrrrr...and we were missing towels again...

Restaurants and Bars:
Food was very repetitive; anything involving beef was hard as a sole-we liked the fish, veggies, fruits, desserts but as soon as the desserts or fruits were running low, there was noone to come and replenish them for a while. Some people complained that if they got in for breakfast at 9:00, there was not much left to eat. Some waiters seem to be very attentive.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was the best thing on this trip although it rained a lot and it was very wavy all the days we stayed there. Overall, the beach is very clean and there is lots of shade. I havent been to the pool but it is due for repairs. The whole resort is going under repair in the spring. The bar in the middle of the resort smells of sewage...yuck.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We didnt go on any tours. There was some kind of entertainment during the day but not much. The evening ones were very average and didnt care much for them.

Other Comments:
We felt that this hotel is deffinately a 3- star and NOT a 5 star! I think they dont care much as they are going to be renovated in the spring. From people that were there in the prior year, the service has gone down a lot. I would not come back to this hotel.

This was my first time to the Bambu. I have stayed at the Mambo in Puerto Plata several times and found this hotel comparable to the Mambo and Merengue. Our flight had quite a bit of turbulence so wasn't so pleasant. Skyservice seats on plane feel crowded...especially if people in front of you recline! Arrival in Punta Cana was quick and easy as was the shuttle to the resort. All went well. I had requested rooms side by side with my group of friends and everything worked out very well. There was only one request not correct and the check in guy sorted it out quickly...so off to a great start!

Rooms::
Rooms had two beds pushed together, which seems to be normal for RIU's. Rooms were clean and mini bar stocked every second day. The beds are very hard/uncomfortable and pillows very thin (it was the same at the Mambo so I expected that). The bathtubs need to be renovated but otherwise all was fine.

Restaurants and Bars::
Very clean! Food was buffet with lots of selection for even picky, allergic people like me. The salads were great, always pizza, fish and chicken were good. The beef is usually not great in DR. In the bars, the drinks were plentiful. Bar and restaurant staff were great fun and very friendly. Keimi in the restaurant looked after us well as did the bar staff, Wilkins/Victor/Javier at the pool/beach bar. Always remembered what we liked to drink! We didn't go to the a la cartes.

Beach/Pools/Grounds::
The beach was absolutely awesome and my favorite part of the trip. It was very clean and spacious. I noticed next door at the Bahia Principe, it was very crowded. We had lots of room. The ocean was rough by times but it was great fun. No rocks, shells or stones so didn't need to wear my water socks. Water was warm too! The pool was beautiful and kept very clean. We went to the swim up bar several times. The grounds are very well maintained and beautiful.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel::
The entertainment staff were fun. They had activities every day posted on the board in the lobby so lots to do if you wanted. The evening entertainment wasn't great. I found the Mambo entertainers more professional. We didn't do any tours on this trip.

Other Comments::
There is a huge flea market down the beach, about a 30 minute walk. We walked through the RIU Taino, Naiboa, and both Palaces to check out their facilities. One of the pools at the Taino is badly run down and needs to be painted and cleaned. I liked the Naiboa rooms, pool. The Naiboa isn't on the beach but it is a very short walk to the beach. Both Palace hotels are beautiful, especially the RIU Palace Punta Cana! Wow! We even walked through the Gran Bahia Principe next door and it was very nice but VERY big...too big. For the price we paid, $525 plus taxes, the Bambu was terrific. Free wireless internet in lobby too. Also found there were no mosquitos, which I found unusual. Front desk staff were friendly and helpful. Had a problem with my safe key and the guy came right over to my room to help. I would definitely go back to the Bambu again.

We left Boston on a TNT charter flight via Miami Air. Great flight, on time both on departures and arrivals. Good cold meal snacks both ways. Pick up at the airport and arrival at the hotel was prompt.

Your Arrival:
Check in was done immediately on arrival with free in room safes.

Rooms:
Room were clean and maid service throughout the stay was efficient. Free mini- bars were well stocked with water, 4 kinds of alcohol and soft drinks. Staff were friendly!

Restaurants and Bars:
Our family of 4 generations ranging from 3 to 80 years old found plenty of variety and tasty food in the buffets for everyone. We choose not to go a la carte so I can't comment on them. Not ONE person in our party suffered from ANY KIND OF AN INTESTENIAL ailment! Bartenders were eager to please. There was a good choice of domestic alcoholic drinks for everyone. Much better quality than some of the other hotels in Punta Cana. I've been to Punta Cana ten times now.
One of our party left her beach bag with money and an expensive camera in the lady's room. When she realized that it was gone about a half hour after that, she went to the lost and found and it was there!

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Pools were nice and clean with plenty of chairs and shade. The beach was beautiful as usual (this is one of the things that keep me going back to Punta Cana). The only shade on the beach was from the palm trees, but there were enough of them to follow the shade and space was ample. The kiddie pool had a nice little playground. We did not take advantage of the structured programs for the kids, but other parents remarked about how much their kids liked them.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Plenty of tours to pick from. If you book on your credit card, make sure you check your billing for duplicate charges.

Other Comments:
We knew when we booked that the hotel was planning on closing in April for renovations and I was a little leery about what we would find. I'm not sure what their renovations will include, but I was happy just the was it was. The only negative thing I would say about this hotel is that the soap bars that they give to you are smaller than what I throw away. If you go here bring your own soap and Kleenex!